"Box of treasures" Original painting

This painting came about as the result of a failed effort at writing poetry. On Valentine’s Day… I’d seen some suggestions on how to write a love poem by a poet I love, and thought I’d give it a go…

It was a poem about the things you’d gift to a lover that were the most precious things to you, but they had to be intangible. And what came to mind for me were memories of magical and wild adventures, seeing hummingbirds for the first time, Blue Morpho butterflies, and fireflies… these memories didn’t just represent the excitement and magic of seeing these beautiful creatures firsthand, they represented the fulfilment of dreams, the experience of freedom and adventure, the joy of witnessing the beauty and magic of unfamiliar nature. (As a child I’d dreamed of seeing hummingbirds, and the first time I saw one in real life was a very special moment.)

The poem was failing so I decided to fall back on a form of expression I find easier!

*

Gift

You once told me
you wished there had been more
adventure in your life
that you’d been freer
more reckless
that you’d chosen roads less travelled
taken wilder risks…

So I want to gift you
these treasures of mine
I gathered while I was being
reckless and free
taking wild risks
knowing only here
and now.

I want to share with you

the feeling
of being surrounded
by glimmering
tiny orbs of neon
at twilight
in the jungle

of seeing
my childhood dream
come true before my eyes
in the beat of
hummingbirds wings

Of being
in the presence of a creature
I’d only ever seen pinned lifeless in a glass box,
on the outside an unremarkable brown
that astounds
with electric blue beauty when it spreads its wings

If I could share
these things with you
if I could seal them
in a treasure chest
with a golden key
I’d gift it to you,

my memories
you could open
and feel
at any time
and be there with me.